Tittira — Book of the Ones · Chapter Four (Kulāvakavagga) · Poem 7 of 10
Setting
No narrative scene in the canonical verse itself
Speaker
Unspecified in the canonical verse itself
Form
One four-line stanza
Length
Under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching text for this poem in other Buddhist literatures.
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — one short verse, source of a widely known story
Why this text
This poem is the traditional source for one of the best-known friendship stories associated with the Jātaka tradition — three animals of unequal size and status who found lasting happiness together simply by determining, and then honoring, who among them was eldest.
Reading guide
A general principle about honoring elders
The verse states its principle in general terms: ‘those people who honor the elder are experts in the teaching; praised in this life, they're destined for happiness in the next.’ On its own, the verse makes no mention of any specific animals.
The specific story behind a general teaching
Per Sujato's comment, the underlying story concerns a partridge, a monkey, and an elephant who were friends and lived happily because they honored the eldest among them. This tale — determining seniority not by size or strength but by whichever animal remembered the oldest landmark or memory — became one of the most widely retold friendship stories associated with this collection, though the verse itself states only the general principle the story illustrates.
Key terms
vuḍḍham apacāyanti — “honor the elder” — the verse's central principle.
dhammassa kovidā — “experts in the teaching” — what those who honor the elder are said to become.
diṭṭheva dhamme pāsaṁsā — “praised in this life” — the immediate reward the verse names, alongside a future one.
Tittirajātaka — the traditional title of this tale, ‘The Partridge’ — though the verse itself concerns a principle shared by a partridge, monkey, and elephant together.
partridge, monkey, and elephant — the three animal friends of the underlying commentarial story, per Sujato's comment, who found happiness by honoring whichever of them was eldest.
The text
The text in full: a single verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1Those people who honor the elder are experts in the teaching; praised in this life, they’re destined for happiness in the next.
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What principle does the verse state, in general terms?
Correct: A. Stated generally, without naming any specific animals.
Question 2 of 10
What three animals does the underlying commentarial story involve?
Correct: B. Friends who lived happily by honoring the eldest among them.
Question 3 of 10
Does the verse itself name these three specific animals?
Correct: C. The specific story comes entirely from the commentarial tradition, not the canonical verse.
Question 4 of 10
How, per the wider tradition, did the three animals determine seniority?
Correct: D. A distinctive method that made the story widely memorable.
Question 5 of 10
What reward does the verse promise for honoring the elder?
Correct: A. A double benefit spanning both present and future.
Question 6 of 10
How well-known is this tale, per this reading guide?
Correct: B. Its traditional source lies in this compact verse.
Question 7 of 10
What is this poem's traditional title?
Correct: C. The thirty-seventh poem overall, and the seventh of the Kulāvakavagga — named for one of the three friends, though the verse itself is general.
Question 8 of 10
What relationship do the three animals have to each other in the underlying story?
Correct: D. Living happily together through mutual respect for seniority.
Question 9 of 10
Where does this poem sit in the collection's own chapter structure?
Correct: A. Part of the same ten-poem Kulāvakavagga.
Question 10 of 10
What does this poem illustrate about the relationship between canonical verse and commentarial story in this collection?
Correct: B. A pattern seen repeatedly across this partial Jātaka selection.
